What are the best practices in a next-generation SOC?

Introduction

Security features and best practices have become an essential gauging metric for SOC services. Security professionals within the SOC team must know how to analyse, read, and report security threats and incidents to an organisation's CISO. Since Security Operations Centre (SOC) should keep an eye out to react to cyber-attacks of all shapes and sizes, this article came up with particular best practices that SOCaaS vendors and next-gen SOC professionals must deliver.

Why do we need SOCaaS best practices?

SOCs play a vital role in the organisation. Since the security attack landscape is ever-changing, the SOC team should deliver top-notch services through SOCaaS to its clients. Following certain best practices recommended by cybersecurity experts can help provide better services to SOCaaS client companies. Next-generation SOC services should remain well-organised to cater to the sufficient protection of corporate assets.

Next-gen SOC best practices

Modern SOC team leverages professional expertise and the latest technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver effective SOCaaS. Here are some of the next-gen SOC best practices we should implement to provide comprehensive & effective cybersecurity services to clients.

1. Proactive threat hunting: Next-gen SOC professionals use machine learning algorithms and advanced threat intelligence tools. It helps them augment their threat identification and help mitigate potential threats that can harm the client's digital assets. It is a best practice to use ML algorithms and update the datasets with new threat signatures and attack models for better accuracy in hunting.
2. Integration: Not every security software or solution will have holistic security features. That is where integrating particular features as per requirement is a good practice. On a broader level, incorporating multiple security solutions into the SOCaaS service provides a unified perspective of the entire security posture for clients. Most SOCs integrate security tools like intrusion detection systems, firewalls, security information and event management (SIEM), EDR, etc.
3. Automation and orchestration: Automating repetitive tasks is another way to enhance the SOC service. Proper coordination of various cybersecurity tools and automating services like monitoring and response (security alerts) using ML algorithms can help reduce unnecessary efforts. Orchestration and automation will reduce redundant tasks for security professionals and help them focus on more productive tasks.
4. Continuous monitoring: Another best practice that SOCaaS should opt for is Continuous Monitoring. Next-gen SOCaaS should use automated techniques and human involvement in monitoring suspicious activities across networks, devices, and online services. SOCaaS should also implement real-time alerts so that the incident response team can prevent the attack from spreading on behalf of the client.
5. Compliance: It is always a good practice for SOCaaS to stay aligned with the latest regulatory compliance. HIPAA, SOC2, PCI DSS, etc., are well-known regulatory compliance that SOC servicing vendors should follow on behalf of their clients. Maintaining strict compliance using access controls, security policies, and incident response procedures help the client stay away from any fines and lawsuits.
6. Collaboration: Every vendor might not have the expertise in every cybersecurity field. That is why it is a good practice to collaborate with other security experts and SOC service providers. Sharing intelligence about emerging threats & feeds about new attack vectors generates more insights on how to tackle them.
7. Comprehensive reporting: Companies that provide SOCaaS must deliver a comprehensive report so that the clients, SOCaaS vendors, and other stakeholders can get an actionable insight into the security postures. It is a best practice to provide regular reports such as incident reports, compliance reports, tool-based reports, holistic security reports, etc.
8. Scalability: Every client company prefers to pay attention to their cybersecurity budget. That is where providing SOC service with the flexibility to scale up or down helps accommodate the change in client demand. It includes dynamically changing the number of security analysts, tools required, monitoring algorithms running, etc.
9. Cybersecurity expertise: Another good practice that SOCaaS should opt for is to access cybersecurity experts in different fields. The inclusion of SOC team members with distinct expertise becomes a plus point.
10. Data privacy: Another best practice SOCaaS vendors should remember is to ensure that all the sensitive & corporate data needs to be handled as per client compliance & policies. Also, cautious handling of data backup/restore, generating reports, etc., is essential.

Conclusion –

We hope this article provided the top ten best practices that next-gen SOC service providers can follow. In a nutshell, for delivering SOC-as-a-Service, SOC's service-providing vendors must consider certain best practices to follow. It will elevate the services & produce robust security for the clients. These best practices will provide better ROI and client satisfaction.